ARCHIVED - Official request made for Corvera airport to be named after Juan de la Cierva

The pioneering aviator from Murcia invented the autogyro in the 1920s

The regional government of Murcia is continuing the procedures required to name the new Region of Murcia International Airport in Corvera after the pioneering aviator Juan de la Cierva, and has now sent the official request for the name change to the civil aviation authorities in the Ministry of Development.

This step has been taken after the process of consulting with all of the relevant authorities in the Region as well as the individuals who hold rights over the legacy and name of the inventor of the autogyro, a predecessor of the helicopter which was developed in the 1920s, with the Asociación Juan de la Cierva Codorníu and the aviator’s descendants and relatives all giving their approval.

The confirmation of the name change is now expected shortly from the Ministry, after which the airport will officially be known as the “Aeropuerto Internacional Región de Murcia – Juan de la Cierva” – although inevitably it will still be known by most people as “Corvera”!

Born in Murcia in 1895, Juan de la Cierva made several historic flights during his career, as well as being credited with the invention of the autogyro, before dying in a plane crash in Croydon in 1936.